Stalin's speech of 19 August 1939


A secret speech was allegedly given by Joseph Stalin, on 19 August 1939, to members of the Politburo, wherein he justified the Soviet strategy to promote military conflict in Europe, which would be beneficial for the future territorial expansion of the Communist system. The strategy included Soviet-Nazi collaboration and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
The historicity of the speech is still the subject of academic debate. Plausible textual evidence of this speech found in various reputable archives has been academically studied and published, however no formal first-hand evidence of a Politburo meeting held on 19 August 1939 or the delivery of the quoted speech has yet been proven. The Russian version of the speech can be found at the Center for Historic Documents of the former Special Archives of the USSR. Speeches given in secret were common at the time, the Politburo being a closed and secretive body.

Summary of documents

In the source material available to historians, Stalin is represented as expressing an expectation that the war would be the best opportunity to weaken both the Western nations and Nazi Germany, and make Germany suitable for "Sovietization". There is also expectation of eventual territorial expansion to the Baltic countries, Finland and Poland, with the approval of either the Western powers or Germany. Historians who have studied these documents have suggested that the speech formed the basis of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which was signed just four days later on 23 August 1939.

Historicity and debate

Whether this speech was ever given by Stalin is still the subject of dispute by historians. According to Viktor Suvorov's book M-Day, Soviet historians laid special emphasis on claiming that no Politburo meeting took place on 19 August 1939, however, Russian military historian Dmitri Volkogonov has found the evidence that a meeting really took place on that day. The speech did took place according to research book Stalin's Missed Chance by military historian Mikhail Meltyukhov, covering the alleged offensive plans by Stalin. Sergey Sluch and Carl Nordling also reviewed the history of the subject.

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